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Police in Berlin are baffled over the identity of a boy who emerged from the forest, saying he'd lived there for five years with his father.

The boy, believed to be about 17, showed up at Berlin's City Hall on Sept. 5. He said he had lived in earthen huts and tents with his father until the elder man died. At that point, the boy, who speaks fluent English and little German, used a compass to walk north for two weeks, finally winding up in Berlin carrying a sleeping bag and backpack, according to The Associated Press.

"He said that he had lived for the last five years wandering around with his father," Police spokesman Michael Maass said. "We don't know where."

Maass said the boy claims he and his father went into the forest after his mother died. The boy says he doesn't remember where his family came from, but said his father called him "Ray" and that his dad's name was Ryan and his mother's name was Doreen. He is in good health and police have issued a Europe-wide appeal to try and determine his identity, though they would not release photos of him.

"Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings..." Patrick Henry

I'm curious about his father, though, and why he decided to take his kid and live in the forests of German and leave society behind after the mother died. He obviously loved the kid, or he wouldn't have brought him along. But it is difficult to fall off the radar, so to speak, these days.